I Need This Belt

That is all.

Gucci Fall 09 = YSL of Yesteryears??

Saks has Gucci Fall 09 up and although recent seasons have been laughable, I'm an optimist at heart and always hope that THIS season, will be THE season for Gucci (and Fendi). The bags are blah...nothing too horrendous but nothing new. The shoes are usually a lot better and this season, its no different. However, I did notice that Gucci seems to be borrowing heavily from past YSL styles.

When I first spotted these triple platforms, I immediately thought "I MUST have these" but then I realized these sorta like a funked-up version of the YSL Trib Twos...


YSL Trib Two:


They even have a Y motif...


Sure, its not fair to say that every ultra-high pump is a copy of the Trib Twos but what about these?


A few seasons ago, YSL had a couple of styles with exaggerated platforms that jutted out from the sides. Compare my YSL Jeanne pumps:


With the Gucci Killin (love the name) pumps:


Right??! Right.


Anyhow, inspired by YSL or not, I'm liking the Gucci Fall 09 shoes...esp these peep-toe booties (aka the Kills):

Oops, I Did It Again

Sorry for the cheesy title but seriously...OOPS!! Once again, I made the mistake of thinking I can walk around SCP without getting tempted. Its an automatic reflex, the minute I walk into SCP, out comes the cc.





These were on sale at Chanel and its been awhile since I've gotten sunglasses so I figured, why not? Hey, at least they weren't another pair of shoes (I was THIS close to getting some YSLs)!

Finally Wearing My...

Louboutin Orlans!! I'm the type of person who likes to wear/use what I buy immediately so waiting a month to wear these is a big deal. It took me a month to stretch these suckers out and today, I finally got the courage to try them out. As far as comfort level goes, not bad! I've had worse so I guess all that stretching paid off :) DZ makes fun of these shoes cus she thinks they look like Alf (HAHA) and I would have to agree...when you look at these from the front, it takes a while to get used to but they're sweet from the side. I would recommend wearing these with tights and a body-hugging dress or pencil skirt.

My Next Purse Will Be...

Lately I've been going so crazy with the shoes that I've neglected my purse collection. I've gone back and forth and changed my mind many times on which purse to get next. I went through a Valentino phase (died out quick), then I went on a "I should save for a Birkin" phase (I dont think I have the self-control or patience to save $10K right now...think of all the shoes I would have to give up!!), then I decided it should be another metallic Reissue but bc of sizing issues, I decided to go for another classic flap instead. For the past 2 weeks, I was set on the navy blue but today I changed my mind, AGAIN. I tried on the blue and it just didn't pop out at me so my SA suggested the red. Heaven. The only problem...the current red is "old" (by Chanel standards, that means its been out for a month) and the new red will be a darker, wine red. That meant I had to either get that baby today or pray to the shopping Gods that something even better will be out next season. Since I was already cheating my shopping ban with the card holder, I decided it was best not to push it. The silver lining? I know exactly which purse to get next! The Chanel Maxi:



Slightly larger than the jumbo and will come in a variety of colors in lambskin and caviar leather. I tried on the silver lambskin and wanted to cry. My SA is going to call me when they get the complete list of colors...right on time since my shopping ban should be lifted around then :)


PS: Chanel no longer does wait-lists. Big BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! They will only take your name down if you're willing to get charged as soon as the bag comes. My SA said they had way too many customers who were putting their names down and not buying when the bags came. That means more research is needed!!! Most Chanels sell out before they even hit stores so make sure you know exactly what is coming out and immediately start making phone calls!!

Bottega Fall 09 Shoes = I WANT THEM ALL

I currently have 7 Loubs and 1 Chanel purse on my wish list. That adds up to a lot of money but today at Bottega, I decided that their entire Fall 09 shoe collection needs to be in my closet. Some are already in stores and online:





I need to reorganize my list and come up with a game-plan on how I'm going to acquire all of the pretty things on my wish list :)

Whoops

I've been talking high and low for the past couple weeks about my shopping ban thats suppose to last from June til July but sigh, I get weak when I'm at SCP. I went to return my Nordstrom shoes today and came out with a little ban-breaker and a whole new shopping list :) I'm justifying this purchase because 1. Its one of the items on my "Absolutely Essential" list and 2. I was good and returned all of my Nordstrom shoes so I'm allowed to slip a little:



I can't fit my wallet into my smaller purses and clutches; I also hate having my money and cards just swimming around so a card holder has been on my shopping list for awhile now. I bought a cheap one from Urban Outfitters last year but I guess there was a reason why it was only $20...it broke after only a few uses! This time around, I spent 10 times more but I'm 10 times happier with my purchase and this Chanel card holder will probably last 10 times longer. I love the Reissue motif and this little guy will allow me to use my smaller purses more often.

Since we're talking about big things not fitting into little spaces, heres Libby squeezing her fat booty into my shoe box (I swear that thing was about to pop...):

The Rejects

When the Nordstroms half-yearly sale started, I got to business right away. I looked over their catalog and picked out all the styles that I was interested in. I then sent the list out to all the SAs I could get my hands on and before I knew it, I was 3 shoes deep. I've been impatiently waiting for these last 3 to get to me but sadly, now that they're here, they've been sent straight to the reject pile. I'm not one of those shoppers who buy more than what they'll keep, take the goods home, play around with everything, and then return 75% of what they bought. I'm also not one of those shoppers who dreads returns. I buy what I like and what I honestly hope to keep. Although my bank account wouldn't be too happy with me for keeping all 3, if they were all TDF, I was prepared to keep all 3. However, these just dont work:



Chanel navy quilted flats:


There was honestly only one pair of these shoes in the system and lucky me, one of my SAs on the East Coast found them for me. I think he was probably more excited than me...HAH! I absolutely LOVE the color but these fit kinda tight. I walked around a bit in these and I could tell that they're one of those flats that'll hurt like hell to walk in.


Jimmy Choo Glennys in silver watersnake:


I'm REALLY upset that these shoes dont fit well. They're SUPER cute on but sadly, once zipped up, they cut off all circulation. I'm not one to cry and moan about pain from shoes but my feet turn bright red the minute I zip these up...not cute.


Gucci Iman:


This is one helluva shoe. My SAs all had a hard time finding these since they sold like hot cakes. My wonderful SA from the East Coast called me at 7am to excitedly tell me that one of his customers just cancelled her order so he put them with my other shoes. I'm sad about giving these up but 1. the ankle straps are too big for my ankles 2. They should be a half size smaller 3. I'm paranoid that the ankle straps make my legs look even stumpier than what they already are and 4. Where the hell am I going to wear these to?? I saw a pic of Beyonce wearing these at the airport. I guess I could wear these to the airport but who am I kidding, I'm no Beyonce. If I was fabulously wealthy, I would keep these just for the sake of having them but I'm not, so I have to exercise common sense; translation: dont spend money on things that you're never going to use!

The good news: my bank account can breath a sigh of relief and I dont have to deal with everyone giving me looks when I tell them I bought 11 pairs of shoes in less than a month.

The bad news: these would've been AWESOME additions to my closet :(


**UPDATE: Okay, I lie. I just walked around some more in the Chanel flats and they're not bad. Those are probably going to stay with me. The Glennys and Imans are still going though...sigh, truth be told, I'm tempted to keep the Imans...

Abbrv

It occurred to me that I should clarify some of the abbreviations that I commonly use on this blog and some of the abbreviations that you see a lot on shopping forums or eBay. Here is the list so far:

NM: Neiman Marcus
BNY: Barneys New York
NAP: Net-a-Porter
BH: Beverly Hills
SCP: South Coast Plaza
BV: Bottega Veneta
Bal: Balenciaga
CL/Loubs: Christian Louboutin
NP: Numero Prive (CL style)
VP: Very Prive (CL style)
MC: Madame Claude (CL style)
VC: Very Croise (CL style)
VG: Very Galaxy (CL style)
LC: Lady Claude (CL style)
SA: Sales Associate
TDF: To die for
WTH: Who/Why/What the heck/hell (or if you're NR, WHO THE HOE?!? HAHAHHA)
IMO: In my opinion
TIA: Thanks in advance
ITA: I totally agree
UHG: Ultimate Holy Grail (aka the shoe/purse/whatever that you would KILL for)
HTF: Hard to find
NIB: New in box
BIN: Buy it now
AFAIK: As far as I know
TPF: The Purse Forum
IIRC: If I recall correctly
Random initials: On this blog, I refer to all my friends by their initials

I'll add to this list as things come up.

If you ever see something abbreviated and you have no idea what I'm going on and on about, just lemme know and I will gladly clarify :)

Dreams Do Come True

I haven't studied for my test tomorrow because 1. I stayed a bit later at work 2. I was stuck in traffic for almost 1.5 hours 3. I watched the Lakers lose (BOOOO!!) and 4. I'm so excited about my new shoes that I just HAD to blog about them :) Remember when I was in tears over the Louboutin Very Galaxy?? I had told myself that if I get any shoe this sale season, it would have to be the Very Galaxy. I also told myself that if they didn't go on sale, I would fork over the $1400 and pay for them in full. When sale season began, I emailed and called just about every SA in the US and asked them to alert me the minute the Very Galaxy goes on sale. Everyone came back with bad news; the VG was either sold out or not going on sale. I was in the process of accepting this unfortunate reality when ND mentioned that python Loubs were on sale at NAP. I went on NAP just to look at the sizes left for the python Decolletes (I knew I wouldn't be able to buy since they dont ship to CA) and GUESS WHAT NAP HAD ADDED TO THEIR SALE SECTION?!!?!?!!? Yep, my dreams had come true...the Very Galaxy on sale for 40% off. The 37 and 37.5 were sold out so I decided to take a chance with the 36.5...very good call since they turned out to be the last pair :) I was literally shaking with excitement and I think I was pretty much limited to "OMG, OMG, OMG" for the rest of that afternoon. After a week of nervous anticipation, lookit what the UPS guy dropped off today:




I always wondered why these were $1395 (NAP sells them for $100 more than every other place) but after carefully inspecting the shoes, it makes sense. All of the mirrored pieces are meticulously sewn together (click on the pictures for a close-up). The color is absolutely stunning and I CANT WAIT TO WEAR THESE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The 36.5 is snug but with a little bit of vaseline (see updated post abt stretching shoes out), my feet and I couldn't be happier.

Okay, time to cram like a mad woman.


PS: My 3 other pairs also arrived but I'll have to post about them later this week.

Apple Garde

I have to confess...I'm not the greatest at taking care of my stuff. I'm trying to be more careful but simply put, I'm a klutz! In an attempt to be a better owner of shoes and handbags, I bought the Apple Garde Cleaning Kit and Stain Repellent but leave it to me to not even bother using the products until a few months later :P However, the important thing is the fact that I finally treated my suede and exotics this weekend.


The cleaning kit comes with the Apple Garde leather cleaner and conditioner, plus a cleaning cloth. I tested the cleaner out on my old Dior wallet and it didn't work any wonders. Its not for use on naked or exotic leather and is probably best for spot-treatments. I would still recommend you seek professional help when it comes to the heavy-duty jobs. I used the conditioner on my python shoes and purse. I've read that its recommended to condition your exotics before and after each use. I probably wont have the time or patience to adhere to that rule every time but I definitely recommend all exotics owners to get conditioner. I used the cleaning cloth and carefully wiped over each scale. Time-consuming but the end result? My python scales turned buttery soft and it even took the curling out of most of the curled scales!! If you haven't used your exotics in awhile, its still a good idea to condition just as a form of maintenance.



The Rain and Stain Repellent is recommended for ALL leather, suede, and exotics. You should technically spray everything before use but again, I'm a bit lazy so I only treated my suede shoes. I was also a bit hesitant to use this on my exotics since I didn't want to risk drying the scales out. I recommend leaving the treated products by a window or screen door since the smell is pretty strong. For the first treatment, you're suppose to repeat after 30 mins; after use, treat periodically.

Since I only started using these products this weekend, I can't really say how well they work (cept the conditioner) but I'll keep you updated :)

Um...No

I've been avoiding shopping sites lately cus I'm on a ban until July but I decided to poke around BNY and my god...lookit what I found!!!! This hideous Lanvin Pouchette. It looks like something you would find in the toys section of a dollar store. Cept this one somehow managed to escape, stumbled into Lanvin and stuck a $1200 price tag on itself. Unbelievable. Who in their right mind would drop $1275 on this?? Eh, come to think of it, I wouldn't be too surprised if Paris Hilton bought this to match her pink Bentley...

7 Reasons Why I Should Stop Buying Shoes

I had planned on doing one ginormous post about my summer sales binge but its taking way too long for some of the shoes to get to me sooooooo I figured I would just post what I have so far. By "so far" I mean the shoes that I bought and received in May :)




Orlans:


On sale for 40% off Shoe In (Wynn, Las Vegas). These are probably THE most narrow Louboutins ever made. Appearances are deceiving; I had never ever imagined having an issue with these until they arrived. I literally could not put them on. Its been about 3 weeks of me patiently stretching these out and they're now ready to meet the world :)


Lady Claudes:


Not on sale but the minute they were on my feet, I knew I couldn't bear to be without them.


NP Glitters:


Again, not on sale. Probably my favorite pair of shoes. Its the girly girl in me...I have a weakness for glitter. I'm tempted to get another pair of glitters just in case they disappear for another 2 years.


Very Croise:


40% off from CL SCP boutique. I've seen so many pictures of people wearing these shoes with their toes spilling out from the sides. I was happy to discover that my toes did no such thing.


Lillians:


40% off from CL SCP boutique. Patience is a virtue. The Lillians are another example of how sometimes its better to just wait for your must-have shoes to go on sale instead of busting out the cc the minute they hit stores.


Leopard Madame Claudes:


40% off from CL SCP boutique. I can't believe I bought leopard print CLs but I absolutely love these and I'll probably wear them to work tomorrow ;D


Lilac Suede NP:


40% off from Hirshleifers (NY). The lilac suede is so pretty...pretty enough for me to want the lilac suede Ron Rons.


Would you believe me if I told you I had 4 more on the way?? Yes, I know. I should go ahead and change my name to Shoe Addict.

Summer Sales

The highly anticipated summer sale season is upon us once again. I am notorious for binging during sale season. Most stores officially open sales up next week but private sales and pre-sales have been ongoing for the past two weeks. I'm a bit ashamed to say this but...I've already reached my sale season quota. Yea, its okay...you can roll your eyes. To date, I have pre-sold 7 pairs of shoes and scored one YSL wallet. My plan is to STOP. Stop with the shoes at least. I need some new clothes so I think after I pay everything off, its time for a shopping spree strictly for new clothes :)

I'll update with all my shoe purchases once I get them...

Stretching Out Narrow Shoes 101

I never knew I had wide feet until I tried on my first pair of Louboutins. I haven't had too much trouble but there are definitely some styles that would look a lot better on me if my feet were just a tad bit more narrow. I recently bought a pair of Louboutin Orlans and to my absolute horror, these shoes are deceivingly narrow...so much so that I have a hard time getting my feet in! They were final sale so I can't return them; I could sell or give them away but ideally I would like to keep them. Thus, I started looking high and low for methods on how to stretch narrow shoes out. Here are some things I've tried in the past week (or plan on trying in the upcoming weeks):

1. Stuff them with tissue paper, regular paper, newspaper, socks, etc. This only works if the shoes are narrow by just a teeny bit.

2. Fill 2 ziploc bags with water and then put the bags in your shoes. Leave in the freezer overnight. The expansion of water as it turns to ice should help to expand your shoes.

3. Put on some damp nylons or thick socks and wear your shoes around the house.

4. Stuff shoes with damp newspaper or towel.

(Tips 3 and 4 are kinda the same idea...wet leather is more pliable)

5. Take them to the cobbler and get them mechanically stretched. You can also buy shoe stretchers and do it yourself.

6. Leather stretching liquid. Not too sure if I trust this, I read a lot of stuff about the liquid damaging or discoloring the leather...

7. VASELINE. Worked the best for me so I highly recommend it!!



My Orlans are suede so I've been stretching them with my bare hands in combination with breaking them in via some help from vaseline. I haven't had the guts to wear them out yet but hopefully after a few more days of wearing them around the house, they'll be good to go :)


*Note: I actually brought my Orlans to work today but I forgot the vaseline...HAHAHAHA :P

**UPDATE: My Orlans are wearable now and its all thanks to technique #4 and #7. I stuffed the Orlans with wet paper towels and the shoes were noticeably wider. Be sure to leave them in for only one night though...when I repeated the procedure, I left them in there for 2 nights and I think if I had left them for any longer, the shoes would've been destroyed :/ Vaseline doesn't necessarily stretch the shoes out but definitely helps with the level of comfort. I even went and bought a travel-size jar so I can have it with me at all times when I'm wearing my tighter-fit shoes :)

How NOT To Wear Makeup

I've read that most men are oblivious to just how much makeup a girl has on and most men will say that they prefer the "natural" look over the made-up look. Kim Kardashian should take note. Your makeup shouldn't be there to make you visible from a mile away. Makeup should be there only to enhance your already beautiful features :) Lets stay away from drawing in a completely new eye, yea? Yea.

Casual Everyday...OR NOT!

Yesterday during a company-wide meeting, our CEO enthusiastically informed us that our dress code was changing from business casual to just plain casual. While that may be a good thing for some, for me...not really. Its much harder for me to dress casual and I've been told that my casual is considered dressy by most people. I dont plan to "take advantage" of this new dress code...I'll stick to my dresses and shoes, thanks.

PS: Dont worry, I'm not as bad as Posh :)

I Should Travel More

DZ and I did a one hour power window shopping spree yesterday around BH. We managed to take in the shoe inventory at the Big Three (aka BNY, Saks, and NM) and check out the YSL boutique on Rodeo. I didn't get really excited over any shoes but thats a good thing. At this point, I pray that I dont see anything that I love cus I'm really trying to cut down on the shoes. I did however, find the YSL travel wallet on sale at the boutique :) This version doesn't have the Muse motif but it was a pretty good deal and so I didn't really think twice about it. I realize I hardly ever travel but I could use it as a clutch or even a oversized wallet for the everyday.

I Love Glitter

Who doesn't love glitter? When done right, pretty sparkles can do a body good :) A few years ago, CL came out with NPs in multi-color glitter. I didn't purchase them and I've lived in regret ever since. About a month ago, NM started pre-selling glitter VPs and NPs and this time, I didn't hesitate. My anthracite glitter NPs arrived today and I can't wait to wear these out:


This iphone pic is unworthy. You HAVE to try them on to understand how pretty they are and once on, I dare you to take them off :)


BTW...new CLs all come with replacement tips:





BTW...if your feet look good in VPs (translation: you have narrow feet), might I suggest you get the marine glitter VPs?????? You can thank me later.

How NOT To Wear A Purse

I dont think I need to elaborate. The above picture is plenty. Okay fine, I'll say a little something. Theres a time and place for everything. If you're not traveling, dont prance around with a duffel bag. I dont care if the duffel bag is expensive, dont bring it out unless you're going on a plane or boat. Thanks.